Adams can't shake skeptics

Randy L. Rasmussen/The OregonianMayor Sam Adams on his first day back at work after announcing he lied about a relationship he had with a legislative intern. Questions continue to be raised about his effectiveness as mayor in light of the scandal.

Last month, City Commissioner Nick Fish and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden met in front of the cameras to highlight the need for federal stimulus money to support the city's efforts on affordable housing.

The politicians had an important point to make, Fish said. But when it came time for questions, they were all about Mayor Sam Adams, not housing.

Fast-forward to Monday.

Wyden and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley were in town to announce Portland's share of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan. They called a news conference and invited elected leaders from around the region to share the spotlight. Adams wasn't among them.

"The senator was very clear about the need to focus exclusively on Oregon's economic recovery and not get distracted by side issues," said Josh Kardon, Wyden's chief of staff.

Merkley also has kept his distance, saying Adams "broke trust with the residents of Portland" and that rebuilding that trust and being an effective mayor "will be a difficult task."

Adams again Wednesday couldn't escape the same insistent questioning, this time from a business crowd. At one point, a man asked him point-blank: "How can you be an effective mayor if you're not even invited to a meeting on the federal stimulus?"

"I have to let people go through their issues," Adams responded. "Clearly partnerships have been stressed, but I'm working hard to fortify them."

Less than two months into his tenure, the major theme of Adams' administration has centered on whether the politically wounded mayor can get the job done.

Count Metro Council President David Bragdon among the skeptics. The scandal -- Adams admitted lying about a 2005 sexual relationship with an 18-year-old legislative intern when he was getting ready to run for mayor -- continues to damage the mayor's credibility, Bragdon said.

It has stymied Adams' ability to revive the idea of a proposed convention center hotel and to press his wish for fewer traffic lanes on a new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River, Bragdon said.

"The whole dynamic on the Portland City Council has dramatically altered the assumptions around the Columbia River Crossing," Bragdon said. "Now you have five commissioners micromanaging the details of a big project. They're bickering about it not because of differences of opinion, but because of a lack of trust among them."

"Sam is subdued"

The convention center hotel was "on life support" even before Adams took it on, Bragdon acknowledged, but added: "With the scandal, it's harder. He had a better chance before the scandal than after the scandal. These deals take a lot of time and attention and trust."

Fish and Commissioner Randy Leonard, who have voiced their disappointment in Adams, said city business is getting done, but there's a pall over City Hall. The wave of energy that followed Adams' primary election in May 2008, building until he took office Jan. 1, has all but disappeared, Leonard said.

"Sam is subdued," Leonard said. "He is not the guy he was when he left for Washington D.C." (Adams was in the nation's capital for Obama's inauguration when he rushed back to make his public confession.)

That said, Leonard noted that Adams has played a crucial role in the city's negotiations with Merritt Paulson, owner of the Portland Beavers baseball team and Timbers soccer team, who is trying to bring Major League Soccer to Portland.

And Leonard said Adams changed the tone of the discussion over the city's efforts to bring seven building-permitting offices under one roof. Until Adams got involved, Leonard said the bureaus were dragging their feet.

"I do not have the luxury of saying I'm not going to work with Sam just because he did what he did," Leonard said.

Fish said Adams has supported his efforts to expand the responsibility of the city housing bureau, but he also believes Adams' troubles have narrowed his ability to represent the city in public.

"It's unfortunate, but we have a council made up of five people, not one, and a number of us are perfectly capable to represent the city at these events," he said.

Facing the skeptics

At the Portland Business Alliance meeting Wednesday, the moderator told Adams in front of the packed ballroom at the Governor Hotel that a survey of the group's members indicated widespread skepticism of Adams' ability to get his job done.

"I'm working hard and as I do that work, I hope I do it in a way that restores the public trust that the people of Portland have put in me," Adams said.

Among his achievements, he said: He called together elected leaders from the region to build a consortium to deal with federal stimulus dollars so local businesses and workers will have one stop in trying to get assistance. He also touted his efforts to revive the convention center hotel and pointed to the City Council's cooperation last week on cutting the current budget in the face of declining revenues from business licenses.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski is working with Adams on a number of crucial issues, including recruiting and retaining Vestas, said the governor's spokeswoman, Anna Richter Taylor.

"Only Sam knows the facts of the situation and whether he can be the leader that these times require," Richter Taylor said. "There's a great deal of collaboration that has to move forward. It can't just stop."